


Fit For A King

by Proteus_Primordial



Category: Hamlet - All Media Types, Hamlet - Shakespeare
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Established Relationship, Fluff, Hamlet and Horatio are in looove, Historical Dress, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Not Beta Read, tragic danish boyfriends - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-29
Updated: 2019-11-29
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:27:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21602986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Proteus_Primordial/pseuds/Proteus_Primordial
Summary: Hamlet survived the duel with Laertes, and has become the king of Denmark. Bored and dissatisfied by his duties as monarch, he leaves Elsinore with Horatio one night to savour some precious time alone.
Relationships: Hamlet/Horatio
Comments: 6
Kudos: 76





	Fit For A King

The cold night air bit into Horatio's skin as he rode alongside his friend. He and Hamlet, in the weeks following the latter's brush with death, had begun slipping out of Elsinore in the evenings to enjoy each other's company alone. Horatio had a desperate desire for Hamlet's presence since his duel with Laertes. No matter how sullen or stubborn the young king could be, he was still Horatio's dearest friend, and the fact that he could have been killed haunted them both. 

After Hamlet's coronation, there were court duties and royal addresses keeping him busy. He spent most of his time speaking to ambassadors and nobles and courtiers, and Horatio -now his advisor- would stand at his side, watching boredom creep into his face. Night time was a chance to escape.

In the distance, the stark silhouette of a crumbling stone castle seemed to rise out of the earth. 

"This is it," murmured Hamlet. When Horatio was still at Wittenberg without him, he had taken to wandering the landscape around Elsinore and had come across this ruin."There's a gateway on the southern wall where we can enter."

They rode around to the far side of the castle and dismounted. Horatio smoothed his coat and reached over to brush Hamlet's dark hair out of his eyes. His expression softened and he caught Horatio's hand, bringing it to his lips for a gentle kiss. "Follow me."  
Horatio smiled back at him and linked their fingers together as they wandered into the ruin. The ceiling and walls had collapsed in some places, but a straight corridor led through the rubble to a throne room. A gap in the room's roof let a flood of moonlight in. Horatio laughed. 

"We came all this way to escape the throne, my lord. This seems somewhat counterintuitive."  
"This is hardly the same. There are no courtiers, no pages, no duties, for now." Hamlet replied. He walked toward the throne, and turned to face his friend. "In fact, it is only us. We can, in theory, do whatever we want".

Horatio recognized the edge that his voice had developed. It entailed recklessness and giddy mischief. He watched the king shuck off his cloak, unbutton his fine golden doublet and throw it carelessly into the corner of the room. He approached Horatio with sly confidence, in his shirt and breeches with his crown askew on his tousled hair. He took Horatio's hand and led him to the throne. He placed his hands on each of Horatio's shoulders and kissed him, open-mouthed and languid. Horatio sighed into the kiss and let Hamlet push him down into the throne.  
He pulled away and smoothed his hands over the carved armrests. Before him, Hamlet knelt, smirking when Horatio blushed. "My lord-" he began, but Hamlet cut him off.

"We are alone, dear Horatio. I am not your lord or your king. I am only your friend." And, as if to prove his point, he removed the crown from his head, examined it for a moment, and placed it atop Horatio's. The solid gold was dense and warm. Hamlet smiled, catlike. "Now it is your turn to rule. How may I serve you, my lord?"  
Horatio laughed and raised an eyebrow. "This is ridiculous. And also some form of treason, I'm sure."  
"It is not. Now tell me what you want." He was slowly crawling into Horatio's lap, trailing slender fingers up his legs. Once he was more or less straddling him, he leaned in to kiss Horatio's mouth again. Horatio shuddered and pushed his forehead into Hamlet's shoulder. "I want you, Hamlet."  
This earned an even more eager kiss. He kissed back, but soon he was smiling contagiously, and the two Danes collapsed against each other in laughter. "By God, Hamlet," Horatio said, "we'll never get anywhere at this point."

But Hamlet didn't seem to agree. Still grinning, he began to unclasp Horatio's cloak. He tossed it aside with his own clothing, and his doublet met the same fate. He slid his hands under Horatio's shirt. The room was filled with their gasps and laughter. Smooth hands shifted around to run up and down Horatio's back, tracing his spine and pulling him closer still. Soon the ruins echoed with moans and cries of pleasure. 

Midnight came, and the pair of horses outside the ruins slept. In the heart of the castle, the king and his advisor were slumped against each other, panting and caressing, whispering sweet words. The moon looked down, illuminating foggy breath and glinting off of the crown that had clattered to the cold stone floor.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! This is my first fanfic ever, and I hope you enjoyed!  
> I have always wanted to write a fic about the relationship between Hamlet and Horatio in an alternate universe in which Hamlet survives the duel, but this turned into more of a fluffy word-vomit sort of thing.  
> I know practically nothing about Danish history, or if ruined castles were even around in the 14th/15th centuries, but I needed to write this anyway.


End file.
